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American Morning

White House Full-Court Press on Warrantless Wiretaps Continues; Saddam Hussein Trial Delayed Once Again

Aired January 24, 2006 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Our next hour, though, begins right now.
Welcome back, everybody.

Another 11th hour surprise to tell you about. The Saddam Hussein trial is delayed once again. We're live in Baghdad this morning. We'll tell you the reason why.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien.

President Bush goes on the offensive to defend his wiretapping program. We'll have a live report from the White House, and we have an interview with the attorney general coming up.

S. O'BRIEN: And did the government know what Hurricane Katrina would do or could do to New Orleans while the storm was still out at sea. An early warning that apparently may have fallen on deaf ears is ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Welcome back, everybody.

M. O'BRIEN: Good to have you with us.

That White House full-court press on warrantless wiretaps continues. Today the president's top law man is at bat. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales making the rounds this morning. Soledad will fire some pitches his way soon.

Yesterday it was the president who carried the water in Kansas.

Elaine Quijano live at the White House.

Good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.

And the White House now calls it a terrorist-surveillance program, but some critics call it illegal. Today, the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, will try to make the administration's case, that the use of warrantless wiretaps on Americans is within the law.

Now the main arguments, President Bush outlined them yesterday in Kansas. He says as part of the war on terror, he has the constitutional authority to order the wiretaps. He also argues that authority is bolstered by a congressional use-of-force major measure passed in the days after the September 11th attacks, and the president insists, that what is subject to monitoring are the international communications of people believed to have terrorist ties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm mindful of your civil liberties, and so I had all kinds of lawyers review the process. We briefed members of the United States Congress, one of whom was Senator Pat Roberts, about this program. You know, it's amazing when people say to me, well, he is just breaking the law. If I wanted to break the law, why was I briefing Congress?

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Some members of Congress still insist those briefings were inadequate. In the meantime, the stepped-up effort by the White House continues. Tomorrow, Miles, the president will be heading to the headquarters of the National Security Agency -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Elaine, the Pakistani prime minister is in Washington, going to meet with the president today. Tell us about that conversation.

QUIJANO: Well, Pakistan is a key ally of the U.S. in the war on terror, and aides say that's going to be, of course, a major focus of the meeting today. Also on the agenda will be the more than $500 million dollars in U.S. assistance to help with earthquake relief in Pakistan.

But behind the scenes, U.S. officials are saying that despite perhaps some reports of recent tensions, that the relationship between the United States and Pakistan is still quite strong -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano at the White House, thanks very much.

In a few moments Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will be with us. Soledad will ask him why he believes the spying program is legal.

And more proof this morning the government botched its response to Hurricane Katrina. Apparently planning in advance was inadequate, and advance warnings the storm would inflict disaster were ignored. The warnings issued 48 hours before the storm hit predicted breached levees, massive flooding, and loss of life and property. This comes as the Senate opens new hearings into the government response to the hurricane. Those hearings get under way in a couple of hours -- Soledad.

Saddam Hussein was due back in a Baghdad courtroom, due back right now actually. But just about an hour ago, his trial was postponed till Sunday.

CNN's Michael Holmes is in Baghdad for us this morning.

Michael, good morning.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Well, how many more surprises is this trial going to throw us? We were meant to see three days of hearings beginning today, perhaps even witnesses who were once part of the Hussein regime.

Well about four hours of waiting, and then a statement that the session would be delayed until Sunday. Some witnesses apparently couldn't come. Some are even not in the country.

Well, the question is being asked, not just by reporters who stayed all of those hours, when did the court know these witnesses weren't going to make it? Why convene the court just to delay it again? So we are waiting to see some answers to those questions -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Michael, the new judge was also supposed to start today. People have described him to some degree as a 180 from the previous judge.

HOLMES: Well, what's interesting, this is going to the first test for this new chief justice. That's right, Raouf Rasheed Abdel- Rahman. He was -- we were all waiting to see whether he would take control of the court in the his predecessor, Rizgar Amin, did not, and faced a lot of criticism over.

Now what we know about him is that he is Kurdish. What's really interesting about this, is that he's from has Al Abjah (ph). That's a place where in the '80s, there was a massacre of 5,000 people. He has relatives in the town, so one would imagine he's not going to cover that trial. That will be another trial of Saddam Hussein.

So very interesting the selection. And there is talk that he wasn't a popular choice. So who knows what's going on -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: yes, that's a good way to sum it up. A question for you, they talked about Sunday starting a new phase in the trial. What do they mean by that?

HOLMES: Well, what we've heard so far is witnesses who cannot directly relate to those defendants, Saddam Hussein and the seven others, to what went on in the town of Dujail.

Now what we're expecting to hear from the witnesses they would be from the regime. There was even, one, we were told, might be in U.S. custody at the moment. And we were going to hear from them, and perhaps hear testimony that may more directly link the defendants with the charges against them -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Michael Holmes for us in Baghdad. Michael, thanks for the update. And I guess we'll just watch and wait until Sunday, right?

An Army interrogator found guilty of killing an Iraqi general during questioning will not be serving any time behind bars. Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. was accused of pulling a sleeping bag over the Iraqi general's head and suffocating him. A military jury found guilty of negligent homicide, recommended, though, a reprimand instead of jail time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEWIS WELSHOFER JR., CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER, U.S. ARMY: I just want to say that I have the utmost respect for the decision the panel members came to tonight. I'm sure it was very difficult on them. And I can tell you it was a little bit difficult on myself and my family as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Welshofer's lawyers claim that his commanders had OK'd the harsh interrogation technique -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Detroit on the ropes and the bloodletting won't stop. This morning, we have word Daimler-Chrysler is set to announce its own round of layoffs aimed at its white collar workforce. This comes on the heels of GM's layoffs a few weeks ago. And yesterday, Ford put plant closings as job one as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL FORD, CHMN & CEO, FORD MOTOR CO.: These cuts are a painful last resort, and I'm deeply mindful of their impact.

M. O'BRIEN: Bill Ford, trying to steer the company his great grandfather founded, through a very rough patch of road.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just like a bad nightmare. You wake up and you think you can't get out of it. We put our heart and souls into it, and then all of a sudden, they announce their shutting our plant down.

M. O'BRIEN: In all, 14 plants are closing in the next six years, including assembly plants in St. Louis, Wixom, Michigan and Hapeville, Georgia, upwards of 30,000 workers to be cut from the rolls. That's a quarter of the company's North American workforce.

FORD: We all have to change and we all have to sacrifice, but I believe this is the path to winning.

M. O'BRIEN: The company did not announce the demise of one of its domestic brands, but did offer a glimpse of what it believes will improve sales, clay models of a diesel hybrid and a new Fairlane, that is part minivan, part SUV and part station wagon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Return profitability in Ford's North America automotive business no later than 2008. That's not a prediction; it's a promise.

M. O'BRIEN: Which comes in the wake of other promises. This is the second major restructuring for the nation's number-two automaker in four years. And it is a promise that falls flat for the tens of thousands of workers left behind.

PEGGY VAN GORDEN, RELATIVES WORK AT WIXOM PLANT: People got houses, and kids and cars and want to eat. Where are they all going to go? How many McDonald's are there to take these people?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ford's been good to me. It's given me everything I've got. I really hate to see this job go. I mean, because it's going to hurt.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: That Atlanta assembly plant in Hapeville, Georgia considered for years one of the most efficient plants, always been commended, on the chopping block. We'll talk to two of the workers, a father and son, who've been there for years in just a little bit, see how they're doing this morning -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: That is so tough. How they're doing, I'm sure just awful.

M. O'BRIEN: Not so good.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: A strange incident, to say the least, at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport to tell you about. It could of turned much worse than this. If you'll recall, you remember that situation with the air marshal a little while ago. Anyway, in this case, a 28-year-old man started yelling at a Continental flight -- on the flight as it was taxiing out to the tarmac. They were headed toward Newark. Troy Rigby is his name. He ran to the front of the plane, banged on the windows and the cockpit door. Those are no-no's. He even bit a passenger who tried to restrain him just before he jumped to the tarmac while the plane was taxiing.

S. O'BRIEN: How did he open the door? There;s a lot of interesting questions. Those doors are not easy to open. With a bunch of flight attendants and the passengers, how did he get the door open?

M. O'BRIEN: Strong guy.

S. O'BRIEN: As the plane is taxiing down the runway and there's no stairs, he just jumps out?

M. O'BRIEN: These are good questions. These are excellent questions.

S. O'BRIEN: I guess we'll be talking to the guy he bit this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: I think we'll get some answers from him, like why and how. Those are two.

S. O'BRIEN: How odd.

M. O'BRIEN: Those are two. Those are two we have.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. And why? That's the biggie.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's the biggie.

Anyway, he's OK, but you got to imagine, if there was an air marshal on there armed.

S. O'BRIEN: They could of shot him, killed him, no question about that.

M. O'BRIEN: Anyway, they ultimately got him with a stun gun.

S. O'BRIEN: We'll see why, the big question.

Ahead this morning as well, we're going to be talking to the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales. He's out today defending the White House wiretap program. What's he saying to critics within his own party. We'll talk about that.

M. O'BRIEN: Plus, those huge job cuts at Ford we've been telling you about. We'll talk to a father and son, as we just mentioned a moment ago. Their jobs on the chopping block. The father is about to retire. The son says he's going fishing for a living. Interesting.

O'BRIEN: And the president yesterday in Kansas. Q&A, loose format. What do you think was the one question that kind of caught him off guard a little? Was it about domestic spying? Was it about weapons of mass destruction? No, it was about a gay cowboy movie.

We've got details on that story just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: 7:15 in New York this morning.

During an appearance in Kansas on Monday, President Bush put away the script, took a few questions from the audience. Of course, with Q&A comes up some Q's you don't really expect from people, like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: You're a rancher. A lot of us here in Kansas are ranchers. I was wanting to get your opinion on "Brokeback Mountain," if you've seen it yet. You would love it. You should check it out.

BUSH: I hadn't seen it. I'd be glad to talk about ranching, but I haven't seen the movie. I've heard about it. I hope you go, you know -- I hope you go back to the ranch and the farm is about what I was about to say. I hadn't seen it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: The president is kind of bucking a trend by not seeing the movie. "Brokeback Mountain," about cowboys in love, has taken in $42 million since its release, and there's lots of talk about maybe Academy Award -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN I don't think the president is going to do Netflix on "Brokeback Mountain." That' just my take on it. I'm going out on a limb here.

(MARKET REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, a more personal spin on those massive layoffs at Ford. We're going to meet a father and son who work at one of the plants slated for closing. How are they handling the news? What are their plans for the future? We'll find out.

And later, the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, will join us. He will talk to Soledad, and he will defend the White House wiretap program. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Well, if you've flown into Atlanta's airport, you've seen it, the sprawling Ford factory just east of the airport. It's been there for nearly 60 years. And over those years, earned a reputation for efficiency and quality. The reward for all that hard work this morning? Pink slips.

Among the 2,000 workers losing their jobs, John Black and his father, Phillip. They join us from Hapeville, Georgia.

Bad news this morning gentlemen, and we're sorry to be talking to you under these circumstances.

Phillip, let's talk with you. You've been there for years and years. You've seen the auto business go up and down. Did you ever think it would come to this.

PHILLIP BLACK, BEING LAID OFF BY FORD: Not here in Atlanta, Georgia. I never thought they would close this plant. We're the number-one plant in North America. I always thought we'd be open. But they've made the decision, so they've done what they thought what was best, I guess, Ford did.

M. O'BRIEN: I know that you were expecting a new model, that the Taurus was on its way out.

Let me ask you, John, were you hopeful that there would be another vehicle you would be assigned there at Hapeville?

JONATHAN BLACK, BEING LAID OFF BY FORD: Yes, sir. I was real hopeful that we would have another vehicle so I could continue my career here at Ford. I was looking forward to retire with Ford, but I also understand the decision they made, and hopefully in the future can find another place to work.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

Now, John, you took this job, obviously, at the advice of your father. He kind of encouraged you. Do you have regrets about taking the job?

J. BLACK: No, sir. I've enjoyed my career here. I wouldn't take anything for it. It's been a pleasure and an honor to work for Ford Motor Company, and I will take pride until the day I leave.

M. O'BRIEN: So you're not bitter about all of this?

J. BLACK: No, sir. I mean, I'd like to have a job, but I understand what's going on, and I love working here, and I think God and Ford for the opportunity they've given me.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, it's amazing how you're taking it in stride. Phillip, for you, though, you encouraged your son to take this job. Do you wish you hadn't?

P. BLACK: Oh, no. Ford has been good to all of us. We're a Ford family. It's been a pleasure and honor to work for Ford over the years. I'm just thankful for the opportunity to work with my son for 11 years here, and I've put in 34 years here. And I'm glad I was able to work with him for 11. He'll be OK. He'll make it. He's a survivor. We'll get through this one way or another.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Phillip, we're going to try to fix your mic.

I want to go back to you, John. I know your dad is planning -- he's got enough years in. He said 34 years there, so he can retire. For you, it's a different story, John. What are your thoughts? What are you going to do? Are you going back to school? What's next?

J. BLACK: That's a good question. But we have yet to find out what Ford might be offering us. I hear that they could be offering us four years of school, and that would be a good opportunity to go and get another career, if they would help us out that way. So I'm kind of leaning toward that if that opportunity arises.

M. O'BRIEN: I understand you have another talent, though. You're pretty good when you're wetting a line, huh?

B. BLACK: Yes, sir. I love bass fishing, and if that's an opportunity and a career, I would love to take that, too.

M. O'BRIEN: There's nothing wrong with pursuing that. I suggest you go to school, too, though. Cover your bases, what do you say, right?

J. BLACK: Yes, sir. I think that's a good idea.

M. O'BRIEN: In case those bass aren't biting.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, gentlemen, we appreciate you joining us, and we're glad you're taking it all in stride. It's a sad day there in Hapeville. You all have done good work over the years. And it's a tough business, isn't it?

John and Phillip Black on their way out at the Hapeville, Atlanta assembly plant, outside of Atlanta.

Coming up, bad news for BlackBerry users. You're one step closer to losing your e-mail. Maybe. We'll tell you why. And we'll look at the alternatives if you can't survive without it. The alternatives are not so good, folks. I've been there, tried that.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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